Research

Are you a guilty person? Guilt, rather than job satisfaction, may be the motivating factor that gets you out of bed in the morning and into the office, according to research published in the Journal of Applied Psychology. Rebecca Schaumberg, an assistant professor at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School, and Francis J. Flynn, a …read more.

Our bodies have two different types of nervous system functioning: one to help us when we deal with life-threatening danger and the other to maintain our bodies in times of safety. When we sense life-threatening danger, our bodies go into fight-or-flight mode. The fight-or-flight response creates immediate action without thought, supplying us with superhuman abilities …read more.

A recent study from the University of California at Davis (UC Davis) reports that an hour of meditation a day can lead to staggering cognitive results that last up to seven years. Lead author Anthony Zanesco, a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Miami who earned his doctoral degree from UC Davis in 2017, notes that …read more.

What leaders say and do in the workplace can affect their subordinates. For example, humor in the workplace can be a way to motivate and engage employees, but a boss’ humor could also create a climate of rule breaking, according to research from the University of Washington in St. Louis. Jokes that fit the “benign …read more.

When distinguishing between the methodologies that coaches use in the workplace, we can safely divide them between two broad methodologies: one focused on bridging gaps and the other on developing strengths. The former group of methodologies follows an approach that concentrates on developing identified learning gaps. A coach focuses on working with a client to …read more.

What trends do you think will redefine executive coaching in the next 10 years? Fifteen members of the Forbes Coaches Council, four of whom are ICF Members and one who has a Master Certified Coach credential, were asked to share their thoughts on this topic in a recent article. Research Perspective Since this article looked …read more.

We used to picture that our nervous systems created one continuum of energy within our bodies, ranging from highly active states to sluggishly passive states. New science helps us see that we actually have two different types of nervous system functioning—one for when we feel safe and another for when we face life-threatening danger. Renaissance …read more.

Safe, new brain imaging techniques provide one of the first looks inside the infant’s brain to show where the sense of touch is processed—not just when a baby feels a touch to the hand or foot, but also when they see an adult’s hand or foot being touched. Evidence of activity in the somatosensory cortex …read more.

Nervous system science helps us recognize the difference between fear that signals a need for encouragement and fear that is actually shutdown—a neurological response that accompanies a sense of hopelessness. When clients have sunk into powerlessness, is it because they sense that they are trapped? Are they facing situations that offer few options? Trauma expert …read more.

In my previous article, I presented the impact that coaching in a foreign language can have on the ICF Core Competencies. But, what about the impact on coaching clients? Of course, anytime we—the coaches—improve our competencies, it is to the advantage of our clients. Are there any other benefits of which we are not always …read more.